ZTE Grand S vs. Galaxy S3 vs. iPhone 5: Spec showdown

The latest smartphone manufacturer to shrug off the budget tag is ZTE. The Chinese company just showed off the flagship ZTE Grand S – a powerful quad-core Android beast with a stunning, full HD display and an impressive camera. We decided to take a look at how it measures up against the two best-selling smartphones on the market right now, the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5. If ZTE wants to make headway these are the phones to beat.

ZTE Grand S

Galaxy S3

iPhone 5

Size

142 x 69 x 6.9 (mm)

136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 (mm)

123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 (mm)

Weight

110g

133g

112g

Screen

5-inch

4.8-inch Super AMOLED

4.0-inch LCD

Resolution

1920×1080 pixels

1280×720 pixels

1136×640 pixels

OS

Android 4.1

Android 4.0 with TouchWiz UI

iOS 6.0.1

Storage

16GB

16/32GB

16/32/64GB

SD Card Slot

Yes

Yes

No

Processor

Quad-core 1.7 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro

Dual-core Snapdragon S4 (US)

Dual-core A6X

RAM

2GB

2GB

1GB

Connectivity

Wi-Fi, 4G LTE

Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+

Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+

Camera

Front 2MP, Rear 13MP

Front 1.9MP, Rear 8MP

Front 1.2MP, Rear 8MP

Bluetooth

Yes, version 4.0

Yes, version 4.0

Yes, version 4.0

Battery

1780mAh

2100mAh

1440mAh

Charger

Micro USB

Micro USB

Lightning connector

Marketplace

Google Play Store

Google Play Store

Apple App Store

Price

TBA

$200+

$200+

Availability

TBA

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mob, Verizon

AT&T, Sprint, Verizon

As you can see the ZTE Grand S measures up well, although that battery is a concern, especially with a 5-inch display to power. It is an attractive, minimalist design and it comes in a range of seven colors. It looks good next to the current leaders, but we know that the next Galaxy S will probably be along soon and the recently announced Sony Xperia Z and the Huawei Ascend D2 have similar specs to the Grand S. The competition will be tough, but one thing’s for sure, ZTE is serious about shaking up the smartphone market.

It will launch in China in the first quarter of 2013, but we’re not sure when, or even if, it will touch down stateside, what the price tag will be, or which carrier might pick it up. These details will undoubtedly have a big impact on its potential success, so we’ll keep you posted.